Multilayer floor covering with releasable securing means



Aug. 15, 1967 C, MccoRD 3,335,536

MULTILAYER FLOOR COVERING WITH RELEASABLE SECURING MEANS Filed Feb. 20,1964 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7% 54 70 A INVENTOR. 75 Goldman C. McCord SZOne,Afferma, uffrrez'steff Jammer V270/nys Aug. 15, 1967 Q Q MCCORD3,335,536

MULTILAYER FLOOR COVERING WITH RELEASABLE SECURING MEANS Filed Feb. 20,1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig-5 A' E :f-E

Q W YW Jaz INVENTOR. Goldxa fr C. McCord Stof/e, Ncrman, urmenser jammerlw'wqys 3,335,536 Patented Aug. 15, 1967 ice 3,335,536 MULTILAYER FLOORCOVERING WITH RELEASABLE SECURING MEANS Goldwin C. McCord, 5127 S.Kedzie Ave., Chicago, ru. 60632 Filed Feb. 20, 1964, Ser. N0. 346,263 6Claims. (Cl. 52-410) The present invention relates to oor coverings andmore particularly to floor coverings of the type generically calledcarpeting.

Carpeting may Abe classed in two broad categories, namely, wall-to-wallcarpeting, and rugs which are smaller than the iioor upon which they areused. For the purpose of definition in this specification, the termwallto-Wall c-arpeting will be used to cover the Vcarpeting which istacked down or otherwise permanently fastened to the lloor surface, andas the name implies, covers the entire floor of the room. Rugs ofpredetermined size, such as 8 feet by l2 -feet or 8 feet iby 8 feet, tocite examples, are purchased in a ready-to-use condition and cover onlya portion of the floor. Rugs or carpets falling into either of thesecategories are subject to a number of common problems in varyingdegrees. Two major problems are difliculty in cleaning and localizationof wear.

Even rugs which are removably laid on the floor have these objections.Further the entire floor is not covered with such rugs, a featureconsidered undesirable by the modern housewife. Such rugs are bulky anddiicult to clean on the floor without professional attention, gener-allyby the use of brushes and rubbing action. To more fully clean such rugs,they must be removed Afrom the floor and sent to a commercial rugcleaning establishment which has special-purpose rug cleaning machinery.Such rugs `also are only capable of being placed in two or fourorientations within the room depending on the shape of the rug and theroom. For example, with an 8 foot by 12 foot rug, the longitudinal axisof the rug must ordinarily be placed along the longitudinal axis of theroom. Thus, when a section of rug is located to be subjected toconsiderable Wear, this section may not be readily placed in a positionto minimize the wear. In fact, most of the Wear on rugs occurs towardthe center and the edges remain in good and unworn condition. Thus noamount of periodic turning of the rug can reduce the wear on the rugcenter area. The same situation is true where a stain is embedded in therug. The rug is not capable of much movement to positions allowing thestain to be hidden.

The previously described conditions pertain to Wall-to- Wall carpetingin an even greater degree. The carpet, once installed must be cleaned onlocation with shampoos and scrubbing action applied manually or bymachine operated lbrushes. Ground-in dirt can not readily be removed inthis manner and there is no way of equalizing the wear on the carpet.Thus, quite frequently, the section of carpet subjected to most Wear isworn out, while the remainder of the carpet is comparatively unworn. Thesame is true of carpets which have been stained badly. The entire carpetmust be replaced to cure the damage to one small section.

The present invention has been devised to resolve these problems. Thus,the present invention provides a carpet which may be fitted fromWall-to-wall or in set sizes, which is readily removable for cleaning"by such methods as the coin-operated dry cleaning machines currentlyprevalent, and which may be shifted about to equalize the wear on allsections of the carpet.

To elect these features, the present invention has as an object toprovide a carpet which may cover the floor surface of the room yfromwall to wall, and which is readily removable in small easily-handledsections Which are convenient for cleaning.

The invention has as a further object to provide a novel carpetconstruction in which the carpet sections may be periodically shiftedabout and secured in new locations, the periodic shifting of thesections allowing equalization of wear on the entire carpet in much thesame way that automobile tires are often rotated periodically toequalize the wear on the tires.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a carpetconstruction formed of sectionalized portions which may be replacedindividu-ally as desired.

It is a further object to provide a carpet construction which hasintegral thereto, a rigid base layer which may Ibe mounted on Worn orirregular floor surfaces to reinforce said surfaces and to provide anadequately rigid oor surface under the carpet.

The present invention utilizes a carpet comprised of a plurality ofrectangular carpet strips which are designed to be mounted on a xedunder layer. These strips optimally will cover the entire floor area ofthe room Ibut may be restricted to a predetermined area. The strips aremounted in place so that once installed they are prevented from slidingor other movement. As desired, the sections may be removed from the oorunderlayer for periodic cleaning and shifting to other locations on thefloor area. The sections, once cleaned, are remounted to the under layerin Whatever location it is desired to shift the sections. The stripsindividually may be of a size such as 2 `feet by 4 feet which are easilyhandled for cleaning and easily shifted about.

The under layer includes a rigid base section which may be mounted tothe floor permanently, if it is so desired. The under layer base sectionis formed of panels which are shaped to mutually mesh and to haveaffixed thereto edges of a number of adjacent carpet strips even thoughthe panels are nominally the same basic size as the carpet strips. Thiseffect is produced by providing l-arge gear tooth-like serrations orindentations in the lborders of adjacent under layer panels to match andinterlock into a single continuous surface.

A layer of padding below the carpet is provided by covering the'uppersurface of each of these panels of the base section with a panel ofpadding, such as foam plastic or rubber. The panels of padding aresuitably bonded to the base layer and are formed with meshing orinterlocking large serrations 4in the edges conforming to those of thepanel. Suitable anchoring members extend from the base section forengagement with mating mounting members ailixed to the underside of eachof the carpet strips. These mounting members secure the carpet layer tothe base layer with the intervening padded layer serving to cushion thecarpet. As mentioned, the under layer may be secured to the iloor in apermanent manner by the use of tacks or the like. Thus, the rigid baselayer may be constructed of panels of plywood or similar thin, rigidsheet or by the use of skeletal members of metal such as aluminum orstainless steel.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from a study of the detailed description of theinvention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a rug embodying one form of the invention,with the rug partially broken away to show the two layer under layerconstruction and the upper layer thereof broken away to show the lowerlayer thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along a fragment of theline 2-2 of FIGURE l showing in elevation one type of fastener which maybe used herein;

FIGURE 4 is a similar sectional view showing another type of fastenerwhich may be used herein;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are side and front elevations respectively of stillanother type of fastener which may be used in the present invention;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are front and side elevations respectively of a stillfurther type of fastener usable herein;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of a base panel which alternatively may be usedin the invention; and

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of an alternative under v layer constructionwhich may be used herein.

Now turning to the drawings in detail, there is shown a three layerfloor covering, shown exemplarily sized to t an 8 foot by 12 foot area.The principle used is similar for any other size floor covering. The oorcovering shown comprises a base layer 10, a padded layer 12 resting onthe base layer and a carpet layer 14. The base layer 10 and padded layer12 may combinedly be called the under layer on which the carpet layerrests and is mounted. Each of these layers is comprised of a pluralityof joined members.

The base layer 10 is comprised of a plurality of base panels designated16. These panels 16 may be fabricated of plywood, masonite, or otherrigid, flat material. Each panel 16 is basically rectangular with aplurality of spaced indentations 32 in the opposed sides formingprojection portions 26 therefrom. Viewing for example lower left panel20 in FIGURE 1, this panel may have a longitudinal length of four feetfrom outer edge 22 to the far parallel edge 24. The transverse length ofpanel 20 is two feet measured from the outer surface of projections 26.The projections 26 are in the form of regular trapezoids with theshorter trapezoid base 30 integral to the side of panel 20. Theindentations 32 between adjacent projections of the panel are also intrapezoidal form and mate with projections 26 of adjacent panels in aninterlocking fashion.

In viewing FIGURE 1, it can be seen that the panels 2l), 34 and 36 whichcomprise the lower tier in that figure are all identical in shape. Inthe next tier there are at either end short two-foot by two-foot panels38 and 40. At their outer edges, these half-sized panels begin with ahalf length indentation 42 to receive the end half-projection 44extending from the corner panel 20 and from the third tier end panel 50,which is identical to panel 20.

From the foregoing, it can be understood that two basic panel shapes arerequired to cover a oor areathe full size panels, such as 20, which havehalf projections 44 at each corner, and half length panels beginningwith half indentations and ending with half projections, such as panel38. Thus, by starting each intermediate tier with half length panels 38and ending with an identical half-length panel 40, the remaining panelsmay be identically constructed in the manner of panel 20.

In one example, the indentations 32 may extend inwardly approximatelytwo inches from the edge of the panel of both types, and the indentationmate therewith. The indentations, of course, are equal or slightlygreater in depth than the projections to receive the projections thereinwith a loose lit.

Each of the panels 16 has bonded, adhered or otherwise secured to itsupper surface a section 51 of the layer 12 of padding such as foamrubber, foam plastic or fiber. A suitable thickness for such a layer is3/8 inch with the padding in its normal or uncompressed condition. Thesections S1 of padded material comprising layer 12 each have a surfaceconfiguration like the panel to which they are secured, so that bymeshing or interlinking a plurality of panels in the pattern set out inFIGURE l an under layer with a rigid base and an upper surface ofpadding is provided.

On certain of the projections 26, preferably to corner one halfprojections 44, the padded layer may be provided with a cut out 52,through which `a small section of the base layer 10 is exposed. Thesenotches or cutouts 52 accommodate fastening members 54 which will bedescribed in detail later in this description. These fastening members54 are affixed to the top of the base layer 10 and extend through thecutouts 52 in the padding to protrude slightly above the top level ofthe padded layer, as will be explained.

Resting on the padding layer 12 is the carpet layer 14. This layer 14 iscomprised of rectangular strips 60 and 62 of carpet of any of theconventional types such as wool, cotton or synthetic fiber carpets. Inthe construction disclosed, these strips are of two basic sizes, twofoot by four foot, and two foot by two foot. In FIGURE l, there isshown, strip 60 which is square and one half the length `of full lengthstrips 62. Optimally, these strips have a constant identical pattern orsurface coloration to match and form a unitary carpet. With a constantsurface coloration, as is especially prevalent in wall-to-wall carpetingtoday, no matching problems arise between adjacent strips; and the onlyaesthetic requirement is that the gaps or spaces between adjacentsections are minimized to approach the effect of a unitary carpetsection. Adjacent the corners and at midpoints along the sides of thecarpet strips, mounting members 84 are secured to the underside of thefabric of the carpet layer. These mounting members 84 may take manyforms, as will be shown, and mate with a protruding fastening means S4extending from the under layer to secure the carpet layer to the underlayer in a manner preventing relative slipping or creeping of thecomparatively small carpet strips.

Now turning to the fastening lmeans 54, it can -be seen in FIGURE l that`these comprise two members mounted in and adjacent to each end halfprojection 44 along an axis parallel to the transverse axes of thepanels 16. The members of each half projection are spaced apart and thedistance between the outer mounting members I54 of the two halfprojections 44 at each end of a given panel is greater than the width ofa carpet strip `6l) or 62, while the distance between the inner mountingmembers along said axis is less than the carpet strip width. The innerfastening members, designated 54A, on any one panel will connect themating mounting members 84 on `the carpet strip above it. Also, theouter fastening members 54B of each panel mate of the carpet strips ofthe adjacent panels which rest on the projections 44 of this particularpanel. Thus, it can be seen that panel 2l) is connected to the carpetstrip 62 directly above it, to the carpet strip 60 above half panel 38and to a full size carpet strip 62 `above the next full size panel 84.This interlinked fastening construction secures carpet strips firmly tothe under layer 10 to inhibit tendency of the carpet to slide or creep.

The fastening members 54 land the mating mounting members may assume anumber of suitable forms. In FIGURE 3, there is shown a iirst form. Inthis form, a flat support member 70 of spring steel or the like isaffixed on `the upper surface 72 of the Ibase layer 10 and has securedthereto a stepped cantilevered Abracket 74 of resilient material, suchas spring steel, having an arm 78 which extends parallel to the topsurface 72 and spaced thereabove a distance suicient to place thebracket upper arm 7S centrally of the padded layer 12. Secured to thebracket arm 78 is a button 80 or male member which extends upwardly fromthe arm 78. This button 80 is designed to mate with a female member 84which has an opening 86 sized to receive button 80 and hold it therein.Female member 84 is secured to the underside of t-he carpet strips 60and 62 adjacent the corners and the midsections aligned with the buttons80. The 4buttons 80 and female membe-rs 84 may be constructed of plasticor sheet metal. Thus, when the female member 84 is compressed ontobutton 80, the button is held by spring tension in member 74. Suchfasteners in :themselves are quite wellknown in the art and are oftencalled snap fasteners.

A second form of fastener is shown in FIGURE 4. This form utilizes aWood screw 90, under the head of which is fitted one end of a coiledhelical spring 92. The upper end of spring 92 has a button member 94secured thereto which is spaced -by the sprin-g from the base layer 10.Button member 94 -mates with a female member 84 mounted to the undersideof the carpet layer as previously described in connection with FIGURE 3.

In FIGURES 5 and 6 is shown a third form of fastener. A hook 100 ismounted to base layer 10 with the free end of the hook extending towardsurface 76 and parallel thereto. An eye loop 102 extends downwardly fromthe bottom surface of the carpet to .receive the'hook. The eye issecured to the underside carpet fabric and should face in s-uch a mannerthat the hook 100 may be engaged therein. All the hooks should extend inone direction for the entire carpet section to allow the carpet stripsto be detached as desired.

Another form of fastener is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8. In this form, ahook 104 which may be similar to hook 100 is employed and aixed to thebase layer and extends toward the top surface 76 of the padded layer. Afabric or tape loop 106 depends from the carpet underside to catch thehook.

In FIGURE 9, an alternative for the base layer panels is shown. Panel110 show is a skeletal frame of flat sheet metal having as its exteriorsurface shape, projections 112 and indentations 114, shaped similarly tothose previously described. The center portion 116 of, each frame isremoved to decrease the weight of the base layer and to decrease the.amount of metal used in the base layer. The surface configuration ofthis panel 110 is the same as that previously described. Also,half-length sheet panels of similar design are employed and constructedwith the contour of panel 38. Fasteners 54 are welded or riveted to theupper surface of each panel and suitable holes 111 may be placed aboutthe frame to allow the frame to be affixed directly to the room floor.The comparative shallowness of the lbase panel 110 when covered Vby thelayer of padding 12 compensates for the open center areas in each paneland this thickness is unnoticed when a carpet layer is placed on thepadding layer.

A still further alternative is shown in FIGURE for the under layer panelconstruction. r[The under layer panels 120l of both the base layer andthe padded layer are made in rectangular form; the padded layer panels122 end a short distance from the edges of the base panels 120 to allowa metal strip border 126 to be secured to the base layer 122 at thelines of intersection of the base panels 120. These metal strips 126each have the previously described gear tooth shape and are used at theintersections of lthe rectangular panels to provide the intertting ofthe panels with the sec-uring members upstanding from the metal stripsin the manner described for the embodiment of FIGURE 9. Each metal stripis secured to the edges of the lower layer panels in a tier. 'Iiheprojections and indentations are meshed together to lock the under layertogether. The use of the serrations allows the strips to be fabricatedwith t-he fasteners positioned in the projections for connection withthe `matting members connected to the under side of the carpet. Thus, oninstallation, the projections with their mating members are aligned atone end with the `base panels and are spaced apart to mate with thecarpet mating members.

To assemble a carpet of the type shown in FIGURE 1, base panels 16 aregrouped and may -be laid out on the oor in position. In the arrangementshown, a. tier of full length Ibase layer panels such as 20, 34 and 36are aligned end to end and tacked down to the floor in the properlocation. Other means of securing the base layer panels may be used asdesired. Once the lower tier of FIGURE 1 has been secured in place, thenext tier may be installed. The next tier has at the opposed ends, thehalf length panels 38 and 40l and between these panels, two full lengthpanels which are identical to the panels 6 20, 34 and 36. The panels ofthe second tire are meshet with the secured panels by the `fitting ofthe indentations and projections, as shown. Succeeding layers are meshedwith the second and successive tiers, and are secured in place tocomplete the coverage of the oor area to be carpeted.

As mentioned previously, each panel of the base layer 10 has adhered orotherwise aflixed thereto a layer ot padding of the same shape as thebase layer panels. By securing the vbase layer in place, the paddedlayer 12 is also secured in place. The padded layer has extending aboveits upper surface the fastening members 54 which protrude individuallythrough the fastener cutouts in the layer of padding.

Assuming that the fasteners shown in FIGURE 3 have been used, a set ofspaced buttons stand above the padding layer 12 from their mounting onthe base layer. Naturally, the carpet layer will have secured to itsunder surface, a set of spaced female snap members 84 positioned to matewith the buttons 80. The carpet strips are rectangular and are -of thesame nominal size as the panels on which they are to rest. A full lengthcarpet strip 60 is placed on panel 20 and snapped in place at thecorners, the snap fasteners mating to hold the carpet in place. At the`center of the edges of the strip length, the carpet fastening members84 are mated with the buttons protruding from the adjacent panels 38 and64 within the indentation 32 in panel 20.

Continuing the progressive carpet laying, the strips are placed on thepanels of the same nominal size and are fastened to the panel below andto those adjacent along the center of its edges. This interlinkage lormeshing arrangement of the carpet on a number of panels inhibits thetendency of the carpet strips to slide or creep apart leaving gapsbetween and further insures a tight intertting of the carpet strips. Asa result, there is completed a carpet, resting on and fastened to asolid under layer including a padded layer. The carpet strips are smallindividually so -that they may be removed for cleaning and once cleanedare returned to position randomly or in any particular order to even thewear on the strips. Once mounted, the carpet cannot slip, is tightlyheld to minimize spaces between the individual strips, yet the stripsmay be unfastened when necessary.

To assemble carpets having any of the other types of fasteners wouldrequire similar operations, in that the under layer must be secured tothe floor and the carpet strips fastened to the many panels of the underlayer.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will deviseadditional embodiments and applications of the present invention. It istherefore intended that the scope of the present invention be notlimited by the foregoing disclosure, but only by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A carpet construction for covering a oor section comprising an underlayer, said under layer comprising a plurality of meshing relativelyrigid panels combinedly covering said floor section, a layer of paddingmaterial atiixed to the upper surface of each of said panels tocombinedly cover substantially the entire floor section, a plurality ofmatching carpet strips adapted to rest on said layer of padding to coverthe entire floor section, and a plurality of releasable latching meansfor securing the carpet strips on the under layer, each releasablelatching means having a first part mounted on the underside of one ofsaid carpet strips and a second part mating with the first part Iaffixedto the adjacent panel of the underlayer, whereby the releasable latchingmeans fastens the carpet strip to said panels in a manner allowingindividual removal -of said carpet strips.

2. A floor covering construction for a floor section, comprising: anunder layer and a carpet layer resting on said under layer, said underlayer including a rigid layer and a padded layer affixed thereto, saidunder layer including a plurality of panels, each of said panels savingprojections extending from the side edges thereof :o mesh with likeprojections in the edges of the adja- :ent Vpanels to interlink andcombine-dly cover the iloor section, mounting means upstanding from aconnection to the rigid base layer within the edge projections, saidcarpet layer including a plurality of carpet strips each of which restssubstantially on one panel of the under layer and also rests on theprojections of the adjacent under layer panels, and means extending fromeach of said carpet strips to engage the mounting means of the paneltherebelow and of the panels adjacent thereto to ailix said carpetstrips to the under layer.

3. A floor covering construction for a floor section, comprising: thecombination of claim 2 wherein the edges of each of the under layerpanels has a series of projections and indentations shaped to mesh withthe indentations and projections of the adjacent panels and interlinkthe panels of the under layer into a cohesive layer.

4. A carpet construction Vfor covering a section of iioor, comprising anunder layer including a plurality of mating panels, said panels eachcomprising a rigid base layer adapte-d to rest on and cover the doorsection to be covered, an upper padded layer comprising a plurality ofindividual members each mounted -on and covering the upper surface ofeach of said panels, each of said panels being basically rectangular inshape with alternate spaced regular indentations in the edges thereofand spaced regular projections in the edges spaced between theindentations, the indentations and projections of abutting panelspositioned to mutually interlock whereby said panels cover the doorsection; and a carpet layer resting on said under layer, said carpetlayer comprising a plurality of matched rectangular carpet stripscombinedly covering the floor section, said carpet strips each restingon one panel and on the projections extending' out of the panelsadjacent the one panel, and a plurality of releasable latching meansspaced adjacent the perimeter of the underside of each of said strips,each of said latching means having one mating portion mounted on aprojection of the adjacent panel and another mating portion on theunderside of the carpet strip, whereby the carpet layer is removablysecured to the under layer in an interlocking manner, said latchingmeans allowing manual detachment of said strips individually from theunderlayer.

5. In a carpet construction as claimed in claim 4, said latching meanscomprising a plurality of finger members extending above said paddedlayer, and female members mounted on the carpet strip to lockinglyreceive said finger members in a grasping action which is releasable inresponse to manual releasing movement.

6. In a carpet construction as claimed in claim 4, said latching meansincluding a spring member mounted between the panel and the one matingportion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 741,100 10/1903 Blackman 52-5121,746,194 2/1930 Johnson 16-4 X 2,346,769 4/ 1944 Lichtor 52-512 X3,012,919 12/1961 Janney 52-273 3,082,488 3/1963 Nusbaum 52-5913,120,083 2/ 1964 Dahlberg 52--591 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,032,038 1953France.

JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No 3 ,335,536 August l5 1967 Goldwn C McCord error appears in the above numberedpat- It is hereby certified that t the said Letters Patent should readas ent requiring correction and tha corrected below.

line l for "tire" read tier column 7 Column 6,

ference numeral "2" read l line 14, for the claim re Signed and sealedthis 15th day of October 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Ufficer

4. A CARPET CONSTRUCTION FOR COVERING A SECTION OF FLOOR, COMPRISING ANUNDER LAYER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF MATING PANELS, SAID PANELS EACHCOMPRISING A RIGID BASE LAYER ADAPTED TO REST ON AND COVER THE FLOORSECTION TO BE COVERED, AN UPPER PADDED LAYER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OFINDIVIDUAL MEMBERS EACH MOUNTED ON AND COVERING THE UPPER SURFACE OFEACH OF SAID PANELS, EACH OF SAID PANELS BEING BASICALLY RECTANGULAR INSHAPE WITH ALTERNATE SPACED REGULAR INDENTATIONS IN THE EDGES THEREOFAND SPACED REGULAR PROJECTIONS IN THE EDGES SPACED BETWEEN THEINDENTATIONS, THE INDENTATIONS AND PROJECTIONS OF ABUTTING PANELSPOSITIONED TO MUTUALLY INTERLOCK WHEREBY SAID PANELS COVER THE FLOORSECTION; AND A CARPET LAYER RESTING ON SAID UNDER LAYER, SAID CARPETLAYER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MATCHED RECTANGULAR CARPET STRIPSCOMBINEDLY COVERING THE FLOOR SECTION, SAID CARPET STRIPS EACH RESTINGON ONE PANEL AND ON THE PROJECTIONS EXTENDING OUT OF THE PANELS ADJACENTTHE ONE PANEL, AND A PLURALITY OF RELEASABLE LATCHING MEANS SPACEDADJACENT THE PERIMETER OF THE UNDERSIDE OF EACH OF SAID STRIPS, EACH OFSAID LATCHING MEANS HAVING ONE MATING PORTION MOUNTED ON A PROJECTION OFTHE ADJACENT PANEL AND ANOTHER MATING PORTION ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THECARPET STRIP, WHEREBY THE CARPET LAYER IS REMOVABLY SECURED TO THE UNDERLAYER IN AN INTERLOCKING MANNER, SAID LATCHING MEANS ALLOWING MANUALDETACHMENT OF SAID STRIPS INDIVIDUALLY FROM THE UNDERLAYER.